Regina

Regina Woke Up on October 23, 1983. Her last memories were of… sitting down to a 'Last Supper'-esque meal with the entire Charming Clan, her son seated between her and her son's other mother and the woman's new husband. They'd just defeated the Black Fairy and fulfilled the prophecy of the Savior, putting a real Happy Ending to the story in Henry's book.

But.

She also had more… 'recent' last memories of finally succeeding in the casting of her Dark Curse and unleashing it upon all the Lands, before racing just ahead of it to her most hated enemy, Snow White's castle, just to rub it in in those last few seconds before the Curse consumed them all. Of watching Snow crying over her dying husband, while ruing the loss of stealing and/or killing Snow's newborn child in front of her eyes.

… Wow. Regina knew she'd had issues, but… well, apparently the next twenty-eight, (or eighteen and then ten), years would do a lot to mellow out her burning rage.

As it was, she was still trying to figure out what exactly was going on here.

They'd won! So, what was she doing back in the past, apparently reliving everything from the moment of Storybrooke's creation until… whenever?

Not about to find the answers to her questions here in her bedroom, she quickly got dressed and ventured out into town… where she encountered the same 'people' having the exact same interactions that she'd witnessed over and over every day for nearly twenty-eight years. And then it got worse.

She ran into little Owen and his father in the Diner…

What was going on here?!

She'd been patient for eighteen years. Finally, on the day she knew was Henry's birthday, she asked Gold for his help in procuring a son for herself. True to form, he came through, though at a seemingly steep price. She left Storybrooke and eagerly made her way to Boston to pick up Henry. This time, after having already raised him, there would be no second-guessing, no almost giving him back. She'd take the bad with all of the good that came from having Henry in her life.

Now all they had to do, she told both herself and her little man, was wait for Emma to get here. Or rather, for Henry to go and get her.

And then…

Then, came the hard part. Playing the 'Evil Mayor' until Emma finally Believed again and broke the Curse. She wasn't sure just how much of that she could stand, if she were being honest with herself.

At least she had Henry...

At home, she could be as kind and nice as she wanted to be. She also had a favorite story to tell him, which became a lot easier when he brought home The Book, loaned to him from his teacher, Mary Margaret.

"Once upon a time," she read to him out of the large leather-bound tome, "There lived a woman known throughout the land as the Evil Queen. She had finally succeeded in cursing Snow White into eternal slumber, so that she might never trouble the Evil Queen ever again. Knowing the danger she was in, Snow White's Prince Charming raced through the Enchanted Forest as fast as his steed could carry him. He arrived too late, however, finding Snow White's friends, the Seven Dwarves, gathered around her glass coffin.

'You're too late,' said Doc.

'No,' Charming cried out, 'No! Open it.'

'I'm sorry,' said Grumpy, 'She's gone.'

'At least let me say goodbye,' Charming begged the Dwarves.

The Dwarves removed the coffin lid. Prince Charming kisses Snow White, and a burst of magic erupts and sweeps across the land, bringing light to the dark-covered lands. Snow White awakens with a gasp.

'You… You found me,' she said, looking upon her Charming Prince.

'I will always find you,' he vowed.

'Do you promise?'

'I do,' Prince Charming said to his new wife, before the Bishop and all the witnesses of the Kingdom.

'I now pronounce you husband and wife,' the Bishop declared. The Royal couple kissed and the crowd cheered. Cheers which suddenly died out when the doors to the chapel were slammed open and the Evil Queen stood there in her black regalia…"

"What's... regalia?" Henry asked.

"Um…" Regina shook her head, reorganizing her thoughts due to the interruption. "It is the special clothing that royalty wear on special occasions. Just because she was defeated by Snow White doesn't mean the Evil Queen isn't still a queen. So, to a special event like the wedding of Snow White and Prince Charming, she wore her special royal clothes."

"Ohhh. OK," he nodded and settled back in to listen to the rest of the story.

"Now, where was I? Oh yes; 'Sorry I'm late,' said the Evil Queen, crossing the room and throwing off the guards that tried to stop her with magic.

'It's the Evil Queen!' the guests all screamed. 'Run!'

But Snow White stood her ground, drawing her husband's sword and holding it out to halt the Evil Queen's advance, calling out to her people, 'She's not a queen anymore! She's nothing more than an evil witch!'

'No,' Charming said, taking the sword from his True Love's grip. 'Don't stoop to her level, there's no need. You're wasting your time, you've already lost. And I will not let you ruin this wedding.'

'Oh, I haven't come here to ruin anything,' said the Evil Queen. 'On the contrary, dear, I've come to give you a gift.'

'We want nothing from you,' said Snow White.

'But you shall have it. My gift to you is this happy, happy day. For tomorrow, my real work begins. You've made your vows, now I make mine. Soon, everything you love, everything all of you love, will be taken from you. Forever. And out of your suffering will rise my victory. I shall destroy your happiness, if it is the last thing I do.'

And then the Evil Queen vanished in a swirl of magic.

Calling together all the good people and heroes of the Enchanted Forest, Snow White and Prince Charming held a conference to discuss the Evil Queen's threat. None knew what to do, of course. Most wanted to fight and kill the Evil Queen before she could carry out her evil plan. But then the Blue Fairy arrived, speaking of a child, the child of Snow White and Prince Charming, who would be their Savior, and had brought forth a magic tree that would lead to the child's salvation. The Prophecy said that, 'On the child's twenty-eighth birthday, the child will return. The child will find her family—and then the final battle will begin!'

A short time later, the wardrobe made from the magic tree was finished, but it was too late. The Evil Queen had cast her Dark Curse, and the Savior was born, mere minutes after the wardrobe's completion. Charming carried his daughter, fighting his way through the castle halls, defeating all of the Evil Queen's minions who stood in his way. Before succumbing to his wounds, he managed to place his daughter, with her baby blanket, in the magic wardrobe, sending her to safety, moments before the Curse struck."

She then held out the book so that Henry could see the illustration of the baby Emma in her father's arms, placing her in the wardrobe.

"There's more to the story than what is in this book, Henry," Regina told her son, recalling as best she could of what Emma had told her about her past. "Baby Emma was sent away so she could break the Curse, but that would only work if she was in the same world where all the fairy tale characters were sent when they were cursed by the Evil Queen… This world."

"This… world?" he looked up at her, frowning.

"Um-hm," she nodded. "Baby Emma was found on the side of the road, near the edge of the forest. She was put into foster care, and had to grow up almost entirely on her own. This made her very strong, very independent, but also very lonely. When she turned eighteen, the government said she couldn't be taken care of in foster care anymore, so she had to make her own way. But Emma had trouble finding a job, so just to survive she had to steal what she needed… food, clothes, a car. In fact, it is when she was in the middle of taking a car, a yellow bug as a matter of fact, that she met another thief, who called himself Neal. Emma and Neal liked each other and spent a lot of time together, stealing what they needed and helping each other out. But then, one day, for no reason that Emma could know about, Neal left. What made it worse, is that he left her so that she would be caught holding something very valuable… something stolen. She went to prison."

"But… she's the Savior!"

"And Snow White was cursed, and Pinocchio nearly turned into a donkey, and Belle from Beauty and the Beast was locked inside a tower and made to clean an entire castle all by herself," she reminded him. "Sometimes, Henry, bad things happen to good people. But those bad things are not the end. Remember, so long as there is hope, there is a chance for a happy ending."

He nodded dutifully.

"As it turns out," she went on with the story, "Neal left Emma one other gift besides the stolen valuables. She was pregnant. But, being in prison, Emma knew she could not take care of a child, she felt she could barely take care of herself as it was. So," Regina took a deep breath, here it was, the moment of truth, she turned Henry so they were looking at each other, eye-to-eye, "when her son was born, she made sure that he was adopted into a good family as soon as possible. She wanted to give her son his best chance. And… she did, Henry. She gave you up so that you could one day bring her here, and reunite the Savior with her family."

Little Henry's eyes went wide, and he might have leaned back from her a little bit, but he didn't immediately start laughing, nor run off screaming telling her to stay away from him. Instead, he gathered up the book, stood up, looked her in the eye, and said, "I… need to think…" then he walked up to his room and closed the door.

Regina remained behind and cried.

Finally, the day had arrived. She knew, because she was all too conscious of the day of the Savior's birth, due to the happenstance of it being the same day as Storybrooke's "Founding", not to mention one of the most terrifying days of her life pre-Broken Curse, when Henry had disappeared for the better part of two days.

Only…

Henry was right there with her, happily sitting in front of the TV, playing a video game on the console.

She double-checked the calendar and the date and then looked in the mirror and asked herself the hard question. Did she want Emma to really come and break the Curse? These past ten years had been amazing for her, getting to raise Henry all over again, making things… better throughout the town, rather than influencing or increasing the curse's role to make everyone miserable. She'd even befriended Mary Margaret, rather than torment the witless school teacher as she had the first time around. Not to mention worked to alleviate issues that hadn't been addressed until after the damn clock tower had started ticking originally, such as Hansel and Gretel and their father, or Leroy's drinking problems, and while it was nice to have him around again, Regina truly didn't feel like starting anything up with Sheriff Graham any longer, so she'd settled for just giving the man back his Heart and letting him make his own choices about life and love.

The raven-haired Mayor scowled at her reflection.

Villains took the easy way out. Heroes made the right decision, no matter how difficult it may be or could turn out to be.

Regina refused to be a villain any longer.

"Henry?" she called. "I have some business to take care of down in Boston tomorrow. How would you like to play hookie with me? I can promise you it won't be all boring business meetings. In fact, I can guarantee you that there is a real treat in it for you."

"Really? Awesome!" the ten-year-old exclaimed.

Convincing Emma Swan to come to Storybrooke, even after introducing her to their shared son, took more work than Regina had prepared for. Ultimately, she had to trick the jaded orphan just to get her to visit for a single day. Apparently, without being an 'Evil Stepmother' that rattled the Savior's latent motherly instincts, the young woman had no inclination whatsoever to stay in town, let alone be part of Henry's life.

It was most frustrating.

Honestly, Regina wasn't sure how she could move things forward without sounding like a crazy person, or some kind of stalker if she tried to convince her with things she'd learned about Emma's past, from the woman herself incidentally. Quite frankly, she was amazed that things had actually progressed to the point of Emma still becoming the Deputy and working on Operation Cobra with Henry. Albeit, Henry seemed to think that Regina herself was either Snow White's 'good' mother, or perhaps Mother Goose, while the 'Evil Queen' remained in hiding somewhere. She wasn't quite sure how to handle that.

But just because she wasn't being as 'evil' and angry-all-of-the-time as she'd been originally, did not mean that Regina had changed completely. She still had the same intolerance for idiots that she'd always had. And an Emma Swan who didn't believe, refused to believe, and was as ignorant about magic and the world behind Storybrooke that she'd been that first year, coupled with 'Mary Margaret' and 'David Nolan' skirting around each other was just about as idiotic as it was possible to get!

Safe to say, there were moments of heated passion between Henry's two mothers. But then, there always had been, so as much as Regina wanted her 'friend' back, she knew she'd just have to suffer through getting her back all over again. Still, it was frustrating, dealing with the naive and jaded Deputy Swan. If she had a choice, she'd much rather be dealing with the happy and hopeful Savior Swan.

And then it all went to crap when Pan's minions showed up out of nowhere, before the Curse had even been fully broken, and kidnapped Henry! Before she could even rally the troops to try and go find him, the world… ended.

Or rather, everything stopped and she found herself, suddenly and without warning, back in the Enchanted Forest, on her family's estate. She was a eighteen-year-old girl, sneaking towards the barn, dressed in her riding outfit with a bag full of her most precious belongings.

She gasped and stopped herself from actually going in.

This was the night the Evil Queen had truly been born. This was the night she'd tried to run away with her First Love, Daniel. This was… the night Daniel died.

She… she couldn't do this. Not again!

Rather than run in and try and save him or work things out so that he might still be alive in some other way, Regina just turned and ran. It wasn't until after she'd gotten lost inside the woods that she even remembered that she had magic. And since magic was all about what knowledge and experience someone had, rather than how often they exercised or practiced, she had no difficulty at all in 'poofing' herself all the way to the one place she'd ever felt safe and could ensure her privacy so as to think here in the Enchanted Forest.

Her castle.

Which, she only realized in hindsight after finding herself at swordpoint by the Royal Guardsmen, wasn't her castle at this point in time, but King Leopold's and Princess Snow White's castle.

Whatever was going on, she officially hated it.

She'd Awoken mere hours after the funeral for the King, Snow's father. Not quite the 'Evil Queen' as of yet, but apparently her UnAwake-self had already put into motion plans to have Snow accused of and hunted down for the death of her father.

Rather than try and put a stop to it, or defuse her becoming the Evil Queen and all that followed, Regina decided to torment her step-daughter, and future mother of her lesbian love interest, in a different way than she normally did. Using the Mirror, (it was hard not to think of him as 'Sydney' after her time in Storybrooke), she confirmed the location of the Huntsman and went to go hire him. The instructions she gave him were very different, however.

"I'm sorry, you want me to what?" he blurted out after nearly doing a spit-take with his tankard of mead.

"You heard me correctly," Queen Regina (in mourning) said. "After all, it's not like I told you to cut out her still beating heart and bring it to me on a gold-pressed platter. I want you to hunt down the fugitive princess, Snow White, and strip her of all her vestments. Jewelry and keepsakes are a must, but anything else she has on, from clothing to shoes, you will return it all to me. She wants to go out on her own, she must face the consequences."

"And… you don't want me to… capture her, or kill her?" he spoke hesitantly.

"What good would killing her do me?" Regina shrugged off the question. "Humiliation is, hmm, so much more satisfying, don't you think, my dear? Now go. Anything else that you do to her, or for her, well. Be prepared to suffer the consequences of your own actions is all I will say. If you do happen to offer her alternative coverings though, just make sure that she earns them. She has no money to pay for anything with. Do you understand me, Huntsman?"

"I understand, Your Majesty," he nodded and quickly walked out with his wolf companion.

Less than a week later, rumors began circulating about a rash of clothing thefts in the outlying villages. Regina dispatched her Black Knights, and pretty much told them the same thing she'd commanded of the Huntsman. After which, the rumors shifted to stories of the people witnessing their deposed Princess streaking through the woods. Regina couldn't help giggling at each new rumor that popped up.

Why hadn't she done this the first time? Humiliating the girl was so much more satisfying than trying to kill her.

Regina 'Awoke' at a point where/when she seemed to more than fifty percent of the time that she 'Traveled' to the Enchanted Forest; IE, the day she first met Snow White, and when her first love, Daniel, was killed. The remaining fifty percent tended to be any time after she'd had King Leopold killed by the Genie and gotten her Magic Mirror and sent Snow White on the run with the dwarves, aka after she became the Evil Queen.

This particular Loop, she found herself in the middle of riding Rocinante around the jump course with her father watching on, and her mother approaching from behind. It was a skill she'd forced herself to develop, being able to instantly know where her Mother was at all times. Bad things happened when she lost track of the evil old witch.

Daniel, the 'stable boy', came at a further distance behind her.

Having run through courses like this for… longer than she cared to think about, Regina's momentary confusion upon Waking Up was just that, momentary and did nothing to throw Rocinante of his game. She finished the course in record time.

"Oh, that's beautiful sweet heart," Prince Henry told her as she stepped down from the horse. His presence was the only reason she could ever tolerate this time in her life.

"Thank you Daddy," she kissed him on the cheek and hugged him close. Fully aware that her mother was approaching and about to speak.

"Beautiful? Hmph!" Cora scoffed. "I'd hardly call that beautiful."

"You didn't like it, Mother?" Regina said. If she was ever anything but entirely respectful in the witch's presence… bad things happened.

"You ride like a man," came the expected statement. "A lady should be graceful. You should use a saddle."

Doing her best to not roll her eyes, Regina responded differently than she had originally, she knew better than to encourage additional criticism, and had long since learned the ways to skirt the border between being 'feisty' and 'rebellious', at least to her mother's eyes.

"Of course, Mother," she replied, petting Rocinante's face to help keep herself calm. "You, stable boy, bring that saddle, at once." She'd even used her 'Evil Queen' voice, hoping to avoid any 'talk' of her becoming an 'old maid' by just going ahead and riding with a saddle, or even shoving her 'ladylike riding' down the old witch's throat.

First thing she had to do, she silently resolved while placing the saddle and girdle on her horse, without Daniel's help, was finding her Mother's Heart and putting it back where it belonged. Well, either that, or hanging onto it so the witch would no longer be a problem.

And then she went around the course again, not just once, or twice, but enough times that it was clear to all present she was indeed shoving her flawless 'lady' riding down Cora's throat. She would have continued to do so, but Rocinante was getting tired, and Regina wasn't about to make her horse suffer for such petty revenge.

"Was that satisfactory, Mother?" Regina commented as she began leading her horse back to the stables. "I should rub Rocinante down and get her fed. She is, after all, my responsibility, and I take my responsibilities most seriously."

"Did you have fun, Regina? With that needless display of yours?" Cora stopped her in her tracks. Thankfully not using magic, just yet.

"I need to attend to my responsibilities, Mother, now if you will excuse me…" Regina tried to walk away, but Cora unfolded her hands, and she stopped cold. If she showed her magic this early… bad things would happen.

"Let Daniel there take care of the horse, Regina," Cora commanded. "I would like an answer to my question."

"Cora…" Prince Henry tried to intercede, but quieted upon his wife holding up her hand in warning.

"Please give her an apple and full bag of her favorite oats," Regina said to him, handing over the reins. "And be sure to give her a good rub down. I will be by later to check on her."

He merely nodded and took the reins in silence, giving worried looks between the young girl and her overbearing mother. Speaking of whom, Regina took a deep breath and turned to face her monster… er, mother.

"Say what you need to, Mother," she said as diplomatically as possible, given the situation. "We all see that you have something that you need to say to me. I will listen."

"Careful, my dear," Cora snapped. "Don't take that tone with me."

"Tone, Mother? And what, pray tell, tone would that be? I offer you nothing but my respect and obedience. Is there something that you would like to discuss with me, Mother? Or, perhaps, I might be permitted to attend to my responsibilities now?"

Cora glared hatefully at her daughter, though she was probably not conscious of the fact that she was doing so. So, Regina moved on and 'answered the question' that had been put forth to her.

"No, Mother, I did not have fun. The… audience was less appreciative than I'd hoped for. Besides, I'm too old for 'fun' now, aren't I? I need to buckle down and attend to my responsibilities."

"Responsibilities, which include finding a worthwhile husband," Cora said dispassionately.

"Why would I want a husband?" Regina commented with a note of derision. "I'd much prefer a willing wife."

"What did you just say?!"

Oh, if only Emma could see the look on her face, Regina privately mused. She needed to find her Mother's Heart as soon as possible.

Regina had been looking forward to this night for a long time now. Practically since before this Loop had started in fact. She had everything set up just so, (it paid to be the Queen after all), and now all she had to do was get her party guests to attend, so to speak.

She walked up to the Forbidden Fortress and walked right in without bothering to knock, though she definitely announced herself.

"Oh Mal!" she called out into the echoing entry chamber. "I hope you're ready for tonight! I have it all planned out and…" she trailed off as she found her friend. Napping. In the middle of the floor. As a dragon.

"Maleficent!" the Evil Queen screamed. "What are you doing?! You were supposed to be ready for me an hour ago! I'm sorry I was late but… Maleficent? Mal?"

The dragon had merely opened one eye at the start of her rant, and then closed it and brought a large leathery wing over her head.

"Very funny," she said. "Now will you wake up already and talk to me? What has gotten into you all of a sudden? I swear, there is a perfectly legitimate reason for why I'm late…"

She was cut off as the dragon transformed back into the horned witch, crystal staff in hand. From the look on her face, something or someone had upset her friend. Who breathed fire. Hoped it wasn't her.

"What is the game, Regina?" Maleficent demanded. "What ploy, or plan do you have in motion? What, precisely, are you getting out of this? Keeping me out of the way, maybe? What? What is it?"

Ah, Regina realized. The eternal whisper of paranoia that comes from the Dark. The Dark One might have shown up and said a thing or two, but he only played upon the fears and doubts that were already within one's heart. Fortunately, Regina had been through this enough times with Maleficent, both here and in Storybrooke, that it was an easy fix.

"I know this is going to sound strange, coming from me certainly, but in general it will sound strange," Regina took a deep breath and looked her friend in the eye, "Have you ever heard of a 'Girls Night Out' before?"

The next morning, Regina awoke (lowercase) in her open floor bedroom of her castle. And there was a pounding, doubled by the pounding in her head. And way too damn much light!

"Uh, Your Majesty?" a timid voice called out over the knocking, which had been the pounding outside her head. "Your Majesty?"

Rising, holding her hand over her eyes to protect from the glare, Regina struggled to her feet, almost tripping over the train of her own dress as she made her way to the door. Slamming it open with her magic (and incidentally ripping it out of its frame) she glared at the manservant standing there and growled, "You do realize that I would be well within my rights as Queen to have you executed on the spot. So this had damn well better be worth the risk. What?"

Gulping, the young man nervously nodded his head and stammered out his reply. "Y-y-yes, y-Your m-mm-Majesty. I, uh, well, it would seem… there is a dragon… sleeping on top of the castle. And the Sea Witch is lounging in your thrown room with… er, friends? All of the castle's animals, the dogs especially, are clustered around your other guest down in the stables. And, um, the green-skinned woman you claimed as your sister is flying around on a broom. While drunk. And, um… not wearing any clothes… Oh, yes, and then there is the damage to all the-" He stopped talking when she held up her hand for silence.

"Leave the dragon alone. Bring seafood breakfast options to Ursula, but don't let her tell anyone what to do. Feed the dogs and whatnot and let Cruella come to the kitchens on her own time. As for my sister and everything else, I will take care of her after I have bathed and had my coffee. Which will be here before the bath is drawn, am I understood?" she ordered.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" he acknowledged and scurried off.

She turned back to her bed, which looked absolutely destroyed, not to mention was still occupied. By the Huntsman, Robin Hood, Maid Marian, and a skinny blond that looked a lot like Emma, but wasn't. Pretty sure she'd been one of Regina's personal maids.

"MWAHAHAHAHA! I'LL GET YOU MY PRETTY! AHAHA!" a British voice screeched as a green blur streaked by her open window.

"Gonna have to do this more often," Regina smiled as she stripped off the remains of her party dress to go and take her bath.

After dozens of 'trips through time', Regina seemed to have caught onto the pattern, such as it was. She still had little to no clue as to how this was happening or who was doing it, but at least she understood the 'what' a bit better now.

At first, she found herself reliving her life in Storybrooke, from just after the First Curse had taken effect, until a little after the time it normally would have been Broken originally. Then she found herself back in the Enchanted Forest, reliving her life from the moment of the 'Evil Queen's creation' and moving forward from there. That she seemed to have changed things immensely in both instances didn't seem to have destroyed the world or ripped open a hole in the space/time continuum, though it had certainly made her life nearly unrecognizable in many aspects. If she hadn't found herself back in Storybrooke yet again after that time spent as Snow White's nanny rather than stepmother in the Enchanted Forest, she'd worry about changing the future so much that she'd never get to see Henry ever again.

As it was, whatever or whoever was doing this didn't seem to rely on, let alone pay any attention to the Laws of Magic. So, whatever she did to change her life in the Enchanted Forest, it would not affect anything about the Curse or the people there when next she Awoke in Storybrooke.

It also, she was slowly coming to realize, presented her with a most unique opportunity. She could play things out however she liked, do whatever she wanted with her life, with her choices, with her power, and there would be no consequences. Ruin both Rumpelstiltskin and her Mother's plans for her life? Next time-travel, she'd still wake up in Storybrooke, getting to raise Henry all over again. Be the Perfect Mayor and Mother, practically a saint in everyone's eyes? Whether the Curse was broken or not, the Heroes just lauded her for changing and she didn't have to worry about Henry hating her or the rest of the town wanting to lock her up.

And the same applied for the other side of the coin. She could be a thousand times as evil as she'd ever been, and because she'd lived through it all before, she could even outwit Snow and Charming and Rumpelstiltskin and all her enemies. She'd even tried it once, killing Snow White with her own two hands and making sure it stuck. Other than actually being horrified with herself, and finding the experience immensely UNsatisfying, it didn't change a thing. Henry was still there in Storybrooke, and Emma still showed up, and Mary Margaret was even still there teaching.

The only thing she truly regretted was that it seemed she was the only one time-traveling like this. If only Henry, or Emma, or… ugh!... Snow were going through all this alongside her, then things might be even more interesting. She might also have some way of finding out exactly what was going on for that matter.

In the meantime, she just went on time-traveling, making different decisions and choosing different actions, trying to see just how… interesting she could make her two lives; the time from Before the Curse, and then her time in Storybrooke.

END (1 of 2?)